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"Always Christ's Truth Imparts Omnipotent Nurture Sanctifying" (A.C.T.I.O.N.S)

Editors note: These are detailed devotional times I have had with the Lord that I wanted to share with the readers. They will be posted on those days I have detailed devotional times. Today's devotional time was  written  between 10:00-11:45 a.m.

Quiet Times for  Thursday, January 29, 04
(Psalm 29, Proverbs 29, Mark 2:5-12)

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this’”. (Mark 2:5-12)

Observations:

I asked myself who are the main characters involved!

1. Jesus
2. Paralytic
3. Teachers of the law
4. Crowd

Observations:

I asked myself what role they play!

Point 1: Jesus

1. Jesus saw their (four men who brought the paralytic) faith.
2. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
3. Jesus knew in his spirit what the teachers of the law were thinking in their hearts.
4. Jesus asks the teachers of the law 3 questions.
5. Jesus tells them He has the authority to forgive sins.
6. Jesus tells the paralytic 3 things.

Point 2: Paralytic

1. The paralytic got up.
2. The paralytic picked up his mat.
3. The paralytic took his mat and went home.

Point 3: Teachers of the law

1.      The teachers of the law were sitting there when Jesus told the paralytic his sins were forgiven.

2.      They thought to themselves ‘why does this fellow talk like that?’

3.      They thought to themselves, ‘He’s blaspheming!’

4.      They thought to themselves, ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone?’

Point 4: Crowd

1.      The paralytic walking amazed the crowds.

2.      The crowds praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Observations/Interpretations:

Yesterday, I focused on the first 2 actions of Jesus. Today, I decided to focus on the next 2 actions of Jesus.

I asked myself what is the significance of Jesus’ actions?

Statement 5: Jesus tells them that He has the authority to forgive sins.

I found it interesting that before He tells them He has the authority to forgive sins, He asks the teachers of the law “which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk”?

To say ‘your sins are forgiven’ produces an intangible result that teachers of the law cannot see. They would wonder what right He has to say that to the man since in their minds only God alone can forgive sins. Jesus is letting them know it is easier for others to say to people ‘that their sins are forgiven’ even if they don’t have the authority. If they don’t have the authority to forgive sins then regardless of what they say really does not mean much. Their words just become words.

But Jesus lets them know that He has the authority to forgive sins by producing an action preceded by the words, ‘your sins are forgiven’. He reminds them it is easier to say to the paralytic, his sins are forgiven than to say to him to get up, take his mat, and walk. To prove He has the authority to forgive sins, He is going to command the paralytic of something that is not easy which is evident by statement 6.

Statement 6: Jesus tells the paralytic 3 things.

1. I tell you, get up!
2. I tell you, take your mat!
3. I tell you, go home!

These commands are given to the paralytic after forgiving him. Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by letting the teachers of the law see a tangible thing which is the action of the paralytic. Jesus supports His words through action that produce 5 results.

1. The paralytic got up.
2. The paralytic picked up his mat.
3. The paralytic took his mat and went home.
4. The paralytic’s walk amazed the crowds.
5. The crowds praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Point 1: The paralytic got up!

I asked myself what is the significant of the paralytic’s actions?

I found it so significant after Jesus’ commands, the paralytic was able to get up. We don’t know how long he was paralyzed but at the words of Jesus he got up. Jesus let the teachers of the law know that He not only has the authority to forgive sin but also has the authority to heal. I don’t know about you but when I think about being forgiven and being healed, I think about God. Jesus is subtly letting them know He also has the characteristics of divinity even though He is there to serve in His Humanity.

Point 2: The paralytic picked up his mat!

To be able to pick up the mat, you have to usually bend. Jesus not only healed him to get up but also healed him to bend down. This is evident when Jesus told him to pick up his mat. This is so significant because when Jesus healed, rehabilitation occurred simultaneously. The paralytic did not have to go through rehab to strengthen his limbs. Jesus did it for him by His powerful words to take up his mat.

Point 3: The paralytic took his mat and went home!

Jesus does not stop there but instead tells the paralytic to go home. At Jesus’ words, the paralytic got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. He walked to go home. This let me see that when Jesus healed him, He strengthened his legs to be able to go home.

Point 4: The paralytic’s walk amazed the crowd! 

It is so cool that the paralytic came from the roof to be healed but was able to walk home in full view of them. It is important to remember that the place was so crowded that there was no room left. The place was packed out and the man walked out in front of them all.

Rather than just following the man who was healed, the crowds stay behind and do something.

Point 5: The crowds praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Because Jesus’ words were not just words but were followed through action, the crowds praised God and remarked that they had never seen anything like what they witnessed. The packed crowd had a thrilling experience that they would not forget.

Think about the time that Pitt went to the Sweet 16 two years ago. The first game was Duke v.s Indiana. Indiana came from behind to win the game. The sold out crowd went wild because they may have not seen anything like this in a game. I know I was so ecstatic while I was there.

Now go back into time and imagine you were there at the packed out place where Jesus was preaching the Word. Now the roof starts to crumble and a paralytic is lowered down. Now the paralytic gets up, takes his mat, and goes on home. If I observed that, it would have been a thrilling experience that I would not forget. A packed out crowd experienced what Jesus was able to do. Jesus supported His Words by His actions.

Implications:

I saw important implications for my own life. I realized how important actions are when we speak something. Jesus accompanied His Words with action and I need to do the same. If I claim to be a Christian, I need to let my lifestyle reflect that I am a Christian.

I ask you now dear friend, what about your actions?

Dear friend our actions have the ability to bring glory and honor to the Lord or bring dishonor to him. When we say something, we should be able to back it up with our actions. Our words should not become useless statements without meaning.

So when we proclaim to others that we are a follower of Christ, can the crowd of the earth see that in our actions?

I hope they can! May we live a life where our actions bring glory and honor to the Lord!

Friend, Jesus loves you so much and has proven His love to you by going to the cross and dying for your sin. He took the action to ransom you from your sin. He wants you to be free. He wants to forgive you, for God has given Him the authority to forgive the sins of humanity because of His willingness to shed His perfect cleansing blood for you and me. Yes, friend Jesus shed His blood so that you and I can be healed from this deadly disease known as sin. Jesus’ blood becomes our antidote! When Jesus was on the cross, Jesus became a Blood donor for the world that was infected with this deadly virus. His blood became a free transfusion for all those who were willing to accept His blood for the cleansing of their sins.

If you have not accepted what Jesus did for you to free you, you can do it now. Yes, you can! You can have Jesus forgive you and give you new life. Jesus is there to forgive us and help us become right with God. The paralytic was spiritually and physically sick and Jesus healed him of both. He was able to go home regardless of how his life looked before he was healed.

Regardless of your past and how your life looks, when you come to Jesus you will have a new home that He will provide for you. One day, you can be with Jesus. That is so cool and exciting to know. Because you accept what Jesus did for you, God’s judgment will pass over you because when God looks at you, He will see you covered in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.

No matter where you have been or what you have done, Jesus wants to forgive you and give you new life. Let this be the hour, for now is the time of Salvation. Don’t delay! You may still have questions about Jesus and don’t have all the answers. Wait on the Lord and He will reveal them to you. The important thing is that you will be right with God.

The Bible says that none of us are good and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible says that our goodness is like filthy rags to God. You see friend, God’s standard of goodness cannot ever be met as we live in a sinful world. We could have done 99.9% good things and 0.1% bad thing and that still makes us a sinner. You see putting 0.1% cyanide in 99.9% of pure water does not make it pure anymore. It may seem pure but it is not.

In the same way, people may see us as good but what matters is how God looks at us. With Christ on our side, God sees us now through the righteousness of Christ. That is exciting to know!

I am not going to say that when you come to Jesus everything will be peachy in your life for the Lord Jesus never promised this but what He promised is that He will be with you and never leave your nor forsake you. He promises to give His people strength.

Always Christ’s Truth Imparts Omnipotent Nurture Sanctifying! (A.C.T.I.O.N.S)

Don’t you want Jesus in your life and not be a paralytic to sin?

You can right now as you make this your prayer.

Dear Jesus, I don’t know everything about you. I still have a lot of questions. What I do know is that you died on the cross for my sins. When it comes to sin, I am a paralytic Oh Lord. I am infected with this deadly disease known as sin. I am not perfect but a sinner who needs your cleansing blood to clean me of my sin everyday. I confess to you my sin and repent of my sin. Thank you for shedding your cleansing precious blood for me. You were nailed to the cross because of me. It is like I actually held the hammer and pounded the nails so I could be free. Thank you for willingly dying for me Jesus. Thank you for taking the shame and pain for me. Thank you for doing that to set me free. I come to the cross and ask you for your healing in my life. Thank you for the power of your Blood to redeem humanity. Thank you for coming back to life to save us and give us Eternal Life as we yield to you. Your blood can heal us where we are. I love you Jesus. Even with my questions, I come to you now and accept you into my heart. Please Jesus come into my heart and make my heart your home. Give me a transfusion of change. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus. I acknowledge you now as my Lord and Personal Savior. Please be the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior and because of what you have done for me when God looks at me, He now sees me covered in your blood and His judgment passes over me. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me. Thank you for being with me Lord. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus I now belong to you and never need to be alone! You will always be with me and have given me Salvation.  In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Love in Christ,                                                         Ramesh